Trolley for electrical vehicles.



T. VARNEY. TROLLBY FOR ELEGTRIGAL VEHICLES.

APPLIOATION FILED APR- 5. 1907.

Patented Aug. 31, 1909.

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WITNESSES:

ATTORNEY T. VARNEY. 'TROLLEY FOR ELECTRICAL VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 5, 1907. 7 932, 52",- Patented Aug; 31, .1909.

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THEODORE VARNEY, 0F PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO WESTINGHOUSEELEC- TRIO & MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

TROLLEY FOR ELECTRICAL VEHICLES.

To all whom alt may concern:

Be it known that I, THEODORE VARNEY, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Trolleys forElectrical Vehicles, of which the following is a specification. i

My invention relates to trolleys for electrically propelled vehicles andit has for its object to provide a device of this character which shallbe specially adapted to transmit large amounts of electric power from astationary line conductor to a vehicle operating at a high speed.

It is a well known fact that sliding or bow trolleys have been foundpreferable to other types for high speed service and particularly whererelatively large'amounts of electric power are transmitted from thesupply line through a single contact member.

A spring pressure has usually been exerted upon the contact shoe tendingto hold it in engagement with the supply conductor but, on account ofthe inertia of the moving parts and the unavoidable irregularities inthe suspension of the supply conductor the contact member is, at times,separated from the supply conductor and destructive elec tric arcsresult.

According to my present invention, I provide, in connection with a wellknown form of sliding or bow trolley, a pair of auxiliary contactmembers, the movement of which is partially independent of that of themain contact member, these auxiliary contacts being provided withsprings so that they follow the variations in the supply line conductormore closely than the main contact member is always able to do.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which-Figure 1 is a plan view and Fig. 2 a side elevation of a portion of atrolley constructed in accordance therewith. Fig. 3 is a partiallysectional elevation of the device illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 and Fig.4 is an elevation, corresponding to Fig. 3, of one of the members shownin that figure, and Figs. 5 and 6 are, respectively, a plan view and anelevation at right angles to Figs. '3 and 4 of the part shown in Fig. 4.

I have shown in the drawing a trolley comprising a main contact shoe 1and two auxiliary contact shoes 2 and 3 which may Specification ofLetters Patent.

Application filed April 5, 1907.

Patented Aug. 31, 1909.

Serial No. 366,499.

be supported by any suitable frame that is capable of being extended orraised so as to bring the contact portions into engagement with a supplyline conductor. The drawings disclose the uppermost portion of apantagraph supporting frame 4 of a well known type, but the use of thetrolley contact of my invention is not restricted to this form ofsupport. A rod 5 is supported at each end of the main contact shoe bythe frame 4 and the three contact members are rotatably mounted uponthis rod as an axis.

The main contact shoe 1 comprises a frame which is built up of sidestrips 6 and 7 attached to end castings 8 (which extend outwardly anddownwardly) and relatively thin contact plates 9 which are attached tothe frame thus formed and are fitted together by mitered joints. Theadvantages of the detachable contact pieces are pointed out in PatentNo. 803,252, granted October 31, 1905, to the Westinghouse Electric &Manufacturing Company, as assignee of Norman W. Storer, and anadditional advantage is obtained by providing several independentcontact pieces across the length of the shoe by reason ofqthe fact thatthe middle portion receives the greater wear in service and may bereplaced without removing the others. This contact shoe is kept in asubstantially horizontal plane by springs 10 (only one of which isshown) that connect opposite sides and opposite ends of the shoe with anarm of the frame 4 which is directly beneath the point of connectionwith the shoe.

The structure of the auxiliary contact vshoes is similar to that of themain contact shoe with the exception that the radius of curvature ofeach auxiliary shoe is shorter than that of the main shoe and theauxiliary shoe is relatively narrower. It is therefore lighter and veryactive in following the slight irregularities of the. supply lineconductor.

The auxiliary contact shoes 2 and 3 are directly attached to arms 11 bymeans of pins 12, the arms being rotatably mounted upon the rod 5. Themain contact shoe is held in engagement with the trolley conductor byreason of a pressure which is exerted upon the lower parts of thesupporting frame 4, by any suitable means, such as springs or fluidpressure. The auxiliary contact shoes are held in engagement with thetrolley conductor by springs 13 and 14 the upper ends ofwhich engagehook projections and 16 on the arms 11, the lower ends of the springsare secured to a support 17 that is suspended from the rod 5. Thesupport 17 is prevented from rotating about the rod 5, independently ofthe main contact shoe 1, by reason of projecting ears 18 that engage theend casting of the shoe.

In operation, the auxiliary contact members are held in engagement withthe supply line conductor even if the main contact shoe is slightlyseparated therefrom since the springs 13 and let and the auxiliary shoesare relatively light and have a negligible inertia. The contact surfacesof the auxiliary shoes are permitted to rise materially above the planeof the main contact shoe and are limited in their motion in thisdirection by projections 19 and 20 upon the arms 11 which engage theouter edges of the main contact shoe.

Although the contact surface of the main shoe has been referred to aslying in ahorizontal plane it may preferably be bowed slightly in orderto avoid, as far as possible, the grooving of its surface by thecontinual wearing of the supply line conductor.

The contact plates, with which the main trolley shoe is provided, maypreferably be so formed as to have a longitudinal lubricant-containinggroove 21.

The means for supporting the auxiliary contact shoes may be considerablyvaried, and other modifications effected, without departing from thespirit of my invention and I desire that only such limitations beimposed as are indicated in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A trolley for electric railway vehicles comprising a main contactshoe having a plurality of removable contact strips which abutend to endalong diagonal lines, and independently movable auxiliary contact shoesdisposed parallel to-the main contact shoe and at opposite sidesthereof.

2. A trolley for electric railway vehicles comprising a main contactshoe having a plurality of removable contact strips disposed end to end,and independently movable auxiliary contact shoes located adjacent toopposite sides of the main contact shoe.

3. A bow trolley comprising a frame having'a broad upper surfaceprovided by a plurality ofremovable end to end contact strips, and apair of auxiliary contact members capable of movement independently ofthe main contact member.

4. In a trolley for electric vehicles, a bow frame having asubstantially horizontal portion, a plurality of removable contactstrips mounted thereon, auxiliary bow contact members, the radius ofcurvature of which is less than that of the main bow frame, stops forlimiting the independent movement of the auxiliary members, andresilient means tending to hold said members in engagement with saidstops.

5. In trolley for electric vehicles, a bow frame having end castings andside strips, and a plurality of contact plates mounted thereon inend-to-end engagement along diagonal lines.

6. In a trolley for electric vehicles, a bow frame, end castings andside strips therefor, and a plurality of contact plates detachablymounted on the frame in end-to-end engagement along diagonal lines.

7. In a trolley for electric vehicles, the combination with a horizontalrod and a bow frame tiltingly mounted thereon and comprising endcastings, side pieces and detachable contact plates, of auxiliary bowcontact members, supporting arms rotatably mounted near the extremitiesof the rod, and resilient means for exerting an independent upwardpressure upon the auxiliary contact members.

8. In a trolley for electric vehicles, the combination with a horizontalrod and a bow frame tiltingly mounted thereon and comprising endcastings, side pieces and detachable contact plates, of auxiliary bowframes, detachable contact plates mounted thereon, supporting arms forthe auxiliary frames rotatably mounted near the extremities of the rod,and resilient means for exerting independent upward pressure upon theauxiliary contact members.

9. A trolley for electric railway vehicles, comprising a main contactshoe and independently movable auxiliary contact shoes located atopposite sides of the main contact shoe and comprising bow frames anddetachable contact strips mounted thereon.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 29th dayof March,

THEODORE VARNEY. I Vitnesses IVEsLEY G. CARR, BIRNEY I-IINEs.

